How to Catch a Bear
by Kale Of The Dragons
Summary: This guy, who goes by the name of 'Grizzly', kills her parents and just about ended hers and her brothers. Now she will do everything she can to hunt him down and kick his butt. With the help of her brother and mechanic of course. (Genderswapped Ed and Win)


**This is the edited version. Yeah... don't kill me or anything but I REALLY didn't like how this was turning out. So yeah. Also, this might be the only update for a long while because I'm gunna be super busy the next few months... with vacations, and swim team, and running club, and colombians, and fun... I'll do what I can, but no promises!**

**And... this was a whole lot longer than I intended it to be... OK THEN.**

**(I happened to put a reference in there on accident/purpose. Kudos to the person who gets it!)**

**REVIEW! BE AWESOME! PEACE OUT!**

**Disclamer: FMA is not mine. Obviously**

* * *

I was eight when my world flipped upside down. I was 10 when I nearly lost everything dear to me, and then some. I was 11 when I met him. I was 12 when I made the biggest discison of my life. Every now and then, when I look back, I keep thinking... maybe it wasn't the smartest discision I could've made.

* * *

Lush green grass waved and danced as the swift breeze swept through. The bright blue sky was cloudless and deep, as if there were neverending shades. Little dots of white in the distant fields moved sluggishly, if none at all, as the sheep grazed. Birds flitted through the air, challanging each other. The hot sun beat down on the cobblestone pavement, and heat rose off it in waves. All in all, it was a peaceful summer day.

There was a shriek of laughter and all the birds scattered. A young girl was sprinting up the pavement, short golden hair flying. She glanced behind her and let out a whoop of delight, pushing her legs as fast as they could go. Her gold eyes blazed as she jumped over a stray sheep. Not far behind her was a boy, with dirty blonde hair, and the same blazing eyes, though not as sharp. He laughed, as he too vaulted over the lazy sheep.

"Ed, wait up!" the boy shouted. Ed turned around and stuck her tongue at him before racing up a hill to a small picturesque house.

"Catch me if you can, Al!"

The chase continued on with gusto, and Ed giggled, beating her younger brother to the fence gate. Then she paused. Some sixth sense told her that something was not quite right. Alphonse caught up to her and put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. She glanced at him, smirking, before turning her attention back to the house. She nudged her brother and pointed to the door.

"Look," she whispered. "The door is broken." Al frowned in concentration, and he saw that his sister was correct. The door was swinging lazily by its broken hinges and emitting an ominous creaking sound. Suddenly, there was a scream followed instantly by gunfire. Ed's eyes widened in horror, and she pelted into the house, throwing all caution to the wind.

"Nee-san! What are you doing?!" she heard Al cry. She ignored him as she burst into the kitchen. A dark shadow flitted out the back door, slamming it with a bang. Ed stood frozen in place, terror and an utter emptiness filling her. She was dimly aware of her brother peeking in behind her. He blanched and practically fell down the hill, screaming for help.

Ed could barely breathe. There on the floor in front of her was their beloved mother, lying facedown in a pool of blood.

"M... Mom?" Ed whispered.

She did not move.

"Mommy?"

Nothing.

With a growing sense of dispare, the young girl collapsed onto her knees with tears streaking down her face. "Mommy? Mommy, please, don't leave us."

Still nothing. Finally it was too much.

"MOMMY NO!" She sobbed brokenly, as reality hit her full force.

Her mother was murdered.

"MOTHER!"

* * *

"MAN, she's tough!"

A girl of about 10 years old stood triumphantly over three battered and bruised teenagers. Her hair was braided, albiet a bit awkwardly, and it fell just above her shoulders. She wore a gray tank top that said: "Forget the glass slippers, this princess wears running shoes!" She turned to her brother and grinned mischeviously. "I guess that year with Teacher really payed off! And I didn't even need to use Alchemy!"

Alphonse scoffed. He stood at least a head taller than his older sister (which she was NOT pleased about) and kept his hair short. "Eda, you shouldn't beat people up just because you can!"

"HE CALLED ME SHORT!" She protested angrily.

One of the boys groaned and sat up, glaring at the girl. "Dude, listen to your boyfriend. He has a point."

Both Ed and Al stared at him in horror.

"EWWW! THAT"S GROSS!" they shouted in disgust. "She's my sister!" "He's my brother, you jerk!"

Ed gave them each one last powerful kick, before turning to the blonde. "Right. Let's go say hi to the hag."

"Nee-san! Granny Pinako is not a hag! That's not nice!" Al scolded. She shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets. They walked in silence for a good ten minutes before they walked into a familiar sight. The girl sighed, her eyes clouded at the sight of their once happy home. She turned to the taller boy and sighed again. He frowned slightly, looked down at her. "Do... you want to go look?"

She looked behind her then back to Al. She nodded stifly, and practically sprinted up the hill. As she apporached the door, she slowed and peered uncertainly through the once cracked door. Everything was how it last was when they left. She shuddered, and walked in, Al right on her heels. Ed hustled through the kitchen, trying to despratly avoid the faint red stain on the hard wood floor. Once in the hallway, she let out a puff of air, running a hand through her hair. Al slipped past her and went up the stairs to their old room. Ed moved to join him, but stopped when a thought came to her. She walked over to a large heavy wood door, and twisted the knob. It was locked. She narrowed her eyes and pulled out a peice of chalk. The young alchemist drew an array next to the silver doorhandle and activated it. When she twisted the knob again, the door swung wide open. She peeked in and whistled in astonishment.

"Hey, Al! Check this out!"

She heard a grunt of acknolegdement, and soon after, the rapid taps of shoes hitting the stairs. Ed stepped into the room and grinned smugly at her brother. "Look at what I found."

Al gaped in surprise. It took him a moment, but when he gathered his wits about him, he glared at her. "You broke into Father's study."

Ed simply shrugged. "Eh. So what if I did," she said and guestured to the huge transmutation cirlce on the floor. "I found this. It must've been what he was working on before he died." She studied the circle, squinting her eyes as she tried to decipher it. "I swear I've seen this before..."

Al roamed around the room, picking up random tools and books, then setting them back down as she muttered to herself. Suddenly, she whooped in triumph. Al jumped, dropping a heavy book on his foot in the process. He yelped, and stumbled back a few paces, bumping into the desk and sending glass beakers to the ground. They shattered upon impact. Al, still extreamly confused and alarmed, stumbled away from the crime scene and tripped over a stray container, crashing headlong onto his sibling. Ed sqwaked, and attempted to stay upright, but failed. Epicly. Ed sat up and rubbed her poor aching nose and glowered at the boy. He let out a nervous giggle and sat up. "Soorryyyy..." he said abashed. Ed rolled her eyes and stood.

"Whatever." She turned her attention back to the circle. "I figured out what dad was trying to do! Its a human transmutation circle, but... it's not complete." She turned determined eyes down at the younger blond. "We're going to finish it and bring back mom."

Al paled. "There is a reason its a taboo, Nee-san..."

She frowned. "I know, but we're going to perfect it."

It took them a matter of days, combining all of their knowlegde and resources and their father's research, to complete their formula. Ed grinned victoriously as she held up her (and her brother's) masterpeice. "We did it Al! Now all we need are the ingrediants!"

They squabbled a bit, debating on where to get them, when they heard a _thump. _Ed and Al stiffened, casting each other wary looks. "You know, we never locked the doors... or the windows..."

_Thump. Thump. Thump... Tap. Tap tap tap tap CLUNK._

The door creaked open ominously, and a giant shadow slipped into the old study. It stepped into the light, and scowled. He wore all black, with thick leather gloves and heavy combat boot, and holsters strapped to his waist and appendeges. He had spikey brown hair and ugly mud eyes. A scar split is face from his left eye to his jaw. "Are you Van Hoenhiem's kids? Edelmira and Alphonse Elric?"

Thinking on her feet, she scoffed, and glared back at the hulking man. "You mean Ed and Al? Naw, last I heard they were down south in Dublith training under some old lady. Have'nt heard from them since." Al scowled at her unapprovingly. The man noticed and leered.

"Really?" Faster than humanely possible he yanked Alphonse off of the ground by the front of his shirt and held a wicked looking knife to his neck. Ed stood in a defencive position, daggers in her eyes. "I think you're lying to me."

"Ed, help me!" Al cried, struggling as much as he could without slitting his own neck. Ed facepalmed internaly, cursing her brother's usage of her name. The man smirked evily.

"So. Seems I was right," He adjusted his hold on the knife and drew it away from the young alchemists neck. "Do you know how HARD it was to track you down? My mission is to kill every person in Mr. Hoenhiem's family, Hoenhiem included. Man didn't go down without a hell of a fight." He played around with his blade, flipping it around his fingers. "Trisha, now she was something. Her kitchen knives almost got me." He guestered to the long scar on his face. "Had to end that with a bang."

Ed's eyes hardened. "It was YOU!" She raged, springing at him with murder in her eyes. The man was caught off gaurd and sprung to the side. His eyes widened in ammusement.

"Scrappy, huh?" He shrugged and blocked a few more strikes with his forearm, Al still held tightly in his grasp. "Let's change that." He kicked the young girl away and plunged his knife into the soft space behind Al's collarbone. Two wails of agony split the air at the same time. Al was tosseed to the floor in a heap of blood and flesh. The scar-faced man turned towards the heart broken sister and advanced. Ed scrambled frantically for something to defend herself with.

Too late.

A second knife came down, fast as a viper. Ed lifted her right arm to block it... And she felt excrutiating pain in her shoulder and in her forearm. She gasped and pulled away, the pain increasing ten-fold. The man giggled maniacly, a wicked gleam in his eyes. Blood pouring out of her now useless arm, she scooted away.

"Normaly, I don't tell people my name until after the light starts leaving their eyes, but since you're basically dead already, I want these to be the last words you hear," The man hissed, pinning Ed against the floor. She looked around wildly, and noticed something very benneficial. Al had managed to drag himself to the center of the Alchemic Circle. His eyes were flitting from her his neck. A plan formulated between the two of them as the murderer continued talking. "My name, you pipsqueak two year old, is Grizzly."

He was obviously expecting a different reaction from the one he got.

She stared at him for three seconds, stony faced, then rage exploded across her features. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY LITTLE PIPSQEAK? I WILL END YOU! NOW!"

Al ripped the knife from his neck and tossed it to his sister, then fell unconcious. Ed caught it and plunged it into Grizzly's chest. He let out a feminine shriek and fell backwards onto his butt, hard. Ed slammed her hands onto the transmutation circle, and everything went white.

* * *

Once molten gold eyes, were now diluded. Once sunshine hair, was now pale. Once vibrante, was now... lifeless.

Ed watched the flaming sun set in the distance with hooded eyes. She glanceed at the steps to the stairs up to where Al was battling his latest sickness. That was his price, she supposed. It was raining when they burst through Granny Pinako's door. Al was in shambles. Pale, eyes thick with terror and worry, he looked like we was a living zombie. Ed didn't look any better. She was limp, her right arm dangling uselessly. She was covered with cuts and brusies, some deep and ugly, others small and faint. However, her lower left leg was missing.

"GRANNY PLEASE!"

Ed sighed as a twinge of helplessness threatened to rise again. She suppresed the thoughts haunting her from that day, and tried so hard to forget what was in that white void. She looked back up at the sun and frowned.

"My grandson is coming to visit."

Ed looked over at the old woman, her dull eyes wondering. "He's from Central. An interesting place really. All sorts of people there. He wants to work with automail, and with that Barry fellow running amuck up there, his parents decided to send him down here. In fact," She peered down the road in thought. "He should be here any moment..."

As if on cue, Den pelted down the stairs and made straight for the door, barking ferociously. "Ahp! There he is!" Pinako hurried over to the door to meet her grandson. Ed, her curiosity piked, scrabbled with the window before finally opening it with a grunt. She leaned out the window and watched.

A young boy, not much older than her she guessed, plodded down the trail to the yellow house. As the dot grew closer, the girl started making out some features. He was tallish, and had a shock of short blond hair. He looked up at her, and baby blue eyes locked with dull gold ones. They stared at each other for a few moments, then suddenly, the boy grinned and waved. "HI! M'NAMES WINTER! WHAT'S YOURS?"

Ed smiled softly for the first time in a year. "ED!"

* * *

"What?"

"What do you mean, what?"

Winter shrugged uncertainly. "I just... what?"

Ed huffed. "Right. Lemme run through it again. Remember when I went to Central? Well I took my State Cirtification Test so now I'm the youngest State Alchemist EVER. Now, because of this, I want to go and hunt down the guy that took my family from me, and watch his sorry butt rot in jail. And I want you to come with me."

Winter narrowed his eyes. "You just cut that in half."

"Yes I did. Better?"

"... Um?"

Ed rolled her eyes. "ME, STATE ALCHEMIST. YOU COME WITH." she said loudly. Winter scowled at her and opened his mouth to retort, but she beat him to it. "Look, Win, this guy I'm after killed my parents, and almost killed me. And I think he was also the one who got yours as well. Now, since I passed the test and all, this Mustang person is going to give me leads and stuff and then we are going to find this 'Grizzly' guy and hand his butt to him. Got it memorized?" She said scathingly, poking his forehead. Winter glared at her again.

"You suck at persuation."

Ed shrugged, and sashaed to the kitchen. Her hair was braided and hanging past her shoulder blades. She wore a loud, red over coat, a black half-jacket, a black tank and dark skinny jeans, with combat boots. Her golden eyes flared with a long renewed vigor as she grinned mischeviously. "I try. And Alphonse is coming with me, right Al?"

Al looked up from his spot at the table in slight confusion. "What?"

Ed fumed silently while Winter laughed heartily behind her. He wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled at the duo. "Yeah, I'll come, but I really hope you know what you're doing Edelmira Elric."

"GOSHDANGITWINTHROPEITOLDYOUNOTTOCALLMETHATCOMEBACKHEREYOULITTLE_TWERP!"_


End file.
